Seeing as it looks like we're all in the mood for willy waving, but also to add another perspective...
I work for a UK 'charter' airline - I have 5 days of rostered flights between now and the end of February, along with a standby block that I almost certainly won't get called for. I have all but one weekend between now and the end of April booked off, and have three weeks of Summer leave confirmed, which were the exact dates I requested and were granted instantly. I'm full time and earn a higher basic salary than somebody in my equivalent position in BA. Every duty is a one or two sector day, and I've only spent two nights away from home since I started (one of which was a last minute change, which I could've refused). I have a plethora of fleet options and detachments available to bid for to keep me interested. Everybody on my OCC course was offered their first preference of base.
It's probably not much use to the OP, but to anybody 10-15 years junior and wanting to avoid the described scenario, charter is certainly the way to go. Summer will be busier, but for now I have, if anything, too much time off.